The NBN VET Together project team comprised a range of partners from VET, education and industry, with Industrylink as the lead organisation. Industrylink is a small registered training provider headquartered in Hobart that provides hospitality-specific accredited training to around 250 trainees, apprentices and, VET in Schools, students around Tasmania in Commercial Cookery, Front of House and Patisserie.
Key partners included the following:
Schools and Community Organisations – Pittwater Community Centre, The Hutchins School, St Micheal’s Collegiate, Sorell Skills Centre and Circular Head Chrisitian School. The schools, situated in metropolitan and regional parts of Tasmania, deliver VET programs to students in years 10-12. All of the organisations have access to superfast broadband, including NBN, AARNET and ADSL2+, with varying degrees of technological and e-learning infrastructure in place.
Employers – Midway Point Store and Zimmah Coffee Lab. Both outlets are connected to the NBN. Midway Point Store is connected to the NBN via cable and was one of the first three businesses nationally to connect to the NBN. Zimmah Coffee Lab is connected wirelessly to the NBN from a Stage 1 release site. Both businesses draw on the capabilities of superfast broadband for a range of operational functions including security and data management.
Consultants – Frankie Forsyth Pty Ltd and Principal Computers. Frankie Forsyth worked with the project manager as an e-learning coach and mentor. Frankie also facilitated training for the Industrylink training team in basic e-learning methodology and practice. Principal Computers contributed support to the project through setting up an “E-learning Lab” in their NBN-connected warehouse space and provided ICT technical support throughout the project.
Trialing innovative programs using high capacity connection
Facilitating VET programs
Preparing organisational readiness models for delivering training and assessment services
Our project addressed all three parts of the NBN E-learning Program scope.
The main aim of the NBN VET Together Project was to address the opportunity to deliver hospitality-related skills-based training in a range of regional and metropolitan areas. The idea was to focus on the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency as a way to develop a method of utilising live, multi-directional video streaming to deliver meaningful, trainer-lead skills based-learning to participants in outlying areas. We wanted to trial innovative teaching and learning methods that leveraged the unique capabilities of superfast broadband to deliver High Definition, full audio and real time rich media, ultimately enabling a teaching and learning experience that would be as good (or possibly even better) than a traditional face-to-face experience.
The idea was that through determining and testing the emerging rich media possibilities afforded through superfast broadband, the facilitation of VET programs would be improved as our project team and partners added to their skills and knowledge of “e-learning 2.0”. In order to achieve these aims of adding innovative VET program delivery methods to our “bag of tricks”, we determined that we needed to undertake some trials and professional development activities to strengthen our organisational readiness for the provision of remote teaching and learning via the National Broadband Network.
All three aspects of the NBN E-learning Programs scope were met through a process where an organisational readiness program took place alongside the trialling and testing of various software and hardware combinations and the adaptation of existing online content for the purposes of the project. All three factors needed to be in place in order to enable the successful live remote delivery and assessment of the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency.
The amount that our team knew about high speed broadband technology varied significantly. Some team members had been on board with the NBN from the very beginning of Stage 1 of the Rollout, or were already connected to AARNET and ADSL2+. They had been using Web 2.0 technologies for a number of education, social and business purposes with a high level of confidence and sophistication for several months. Three of the schools had already been using high-quality (and very expensive) video conferencing technology for remote theory teaching purposes and had a good understanding of the possibilities afforded by using superfast broadband in combination with purpose-built software and hardware. They were keen to see how they would be able to apply the capacity that they had for HD video conferencing to a skills-based training context. These partners were optimistic about the project’s chance of success and were open-minded and supportive about participating in the project. They generally approved of the limited scope of the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency that had been selected for delivery, as they understood that for the first phase of the transition to live remote delivery of skills-based training, it would be appropriate to focus on skills that could be performed while the learners and teachers were stationery.
Other parts of the team had little or no knowledge of high speed broadband technologies at all – including the project manager! Prior to leading the project, Industrylink did not utilise any e-learning practices for the delivery of its Hospitality training and assessment. The project manager had very little understanding of the challenges that might present themselves while attempting to conduct skills based training in this way. Leading the project, and engaging the assistance of Frankie Forsyth, a highly skilled and experienced E-learning Mentor, as well as Paddy McLaughlan (Australian Flexible Learning Toolbox Champion / Content Services Advisor), presented an excellent opportunity to adopt some new organisational practises that would address some of the challenges that Industrylink faces in the delivery of quality, real time training to regional and remote students in hands-on occupations.
We chose the Process Financial Transactions unit for a number of reasons. The first was that it was a unit of competency that could be useful for all kinds of learners – those who were enrolled in full qualifications, and those who were just interested in joining in for the project. We chose the unit as it could be transported into qualifications from 13 different service-oriented training packages, so that participants could gain credit towards a huge number of nationally recognised qualifications. The project centred on this unit as the performance criteria contained within the unit is largely skills-oriented, with very few performance criteria that were solely theory-based. We wanted to focus on ways to work with remote learners who prefer to “do”, rather than to read and write, as we felt that this was the gap in the e-learning landscape so far. We ensured that we formed a well balanced team of ICT specialists and e-learning advocates, as well as interested community workers who could support the progress of the project. Each of the schools has ICT staff with excellent technical abilities, as do Frankie Forsyth and the team at Principal Computers and Zimmah Coffee. We planned to ensure that at least one technically competent person would be present during the initial trials of varying combinations of software and hardware types, so that we would be able to troubleshoot as we went. Despite these supporting factors, there were a few key points at which we were caught unawares. We discovered that almost every step took a great deal more time than we imagined, and learned to allow at least an hour and a half for set up and troubleshooting before introducing any new element to the teaching and learning configuration, even when that particular combination had been successful in a trial run. The other factor that caught us by surprise was that there were errors in the Learning Objects from the Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository that we had intended to use for delivering the theoretical components of the Unit of Competency.
These issues, despite being unforseen, ultimately contributed to the success of the project. Our core team became much more skilled at troubleshooting, becoming familiar with common issues and ways to deal with them. As new challenges arose, we were able to draw on a broadening network of people with particular expertise in various areas to address the various issues. This had the effect of strengthening our support networks and sparking interest in the project in circles that we had not initially considered. We drew heavily on the support of the E-learning Unit at Skills Tasmania, in particular that of the Content Services Advisor, Paddy McLaughlan.
Highlight what worked, what didn’t work; and lessons learnt, and strategies used as they relate to:
finding connected venues,
getting connected to the NBN, and cable vs. WIFI connection,
download and upload speeds adequacy
trials,
software and hardware issues,
delivering to tablets or smart phones,
internal bureaucracy issues,
IT support,
Participant issues specific to venues, connection or interactivity with NBN, etc.
any other matters that arose in getting started
Starting our project was simple in some key ways and difficult in others. The simple part was gaining access to NBN- and other superfast broadband-connected locations, as these had been identified prior to our original submission. In fact, as we started to explore the actual teaching and learning strategies and began talking to a broad range of people, in true Tasmanian style, we were offered the use of even more NBN-connected spaces by people we had never met! In the early stages of the project, the project manager met with a broad range of interested parties from industry, government and communities to rally support for the project outcomes and to learn more about attitudes and experiences relating to superfast broadband. Everyone that we met with was supportive and keen to assist in any way they could. The initial consultations informed our interaction with learners and co-ordinators, as we were more aware of barriers to engagement such as previous negative experiences with early versions of e-learning, access to transport in regional locations and attitudes towards the NBN in general. Difficulties in starting were mainly due to the timing of the projects’ commencement. Given that the learners and the group co-ordinators were largely drawn from schools and the hospitality industry, we experienced considerable difficulty in connecting with them in between January and March. These months constitute school holidays and beginning of term for the VET in Schools cohort, and are peak season for Hospitality trainees and their employers. This made scheduling sessions difficult until mid-March.
Key activities that we undertook during the start-up phase were related to determining the critical aspects for training and assessment from the Unit of Competency and testing remote methods of assessment for these skills. For example, in order to assess a person’s ability to give correct change and to count the float in a cash register accurately, the assessor needed to be able to reliably discern between tender types. In the start-up phase, we trialled various cameras and cloud ware types to see how useful the picture quality was. We discovered that some webcams did not have sufficient resolution to reliably tell the difference between $20 and $50, and between 10c and 20c coins so had to determine the minimum picture resolution necessary for assessment. We discovered a range of surprises that we hadn’t considered, such as the fact that down- and upload speeds dropped significantly (and unexpectedly) when data allowances were used up, and that some project partners needed to work with their Internet Service Providers to increase their data allowances. Software functionality was also an issue, as we determined that some existing software types (such as Skype) were designed to minimise the amount of bandwidth used to allow them to be used across poorer connections. In some trials, despite the fact that excellent connections with superior hardware were available, we were unable to achieve the clarity of vision necessary for teaching the skills without having to physically move the camera very close to the objects that we were trying to see.
Given that Industry link had traditionally delivered Process Financial Transactions in an on-the-job, one-on-one style, we also needed to re-think the session plans and teaching resources that we would use to deliver the unit to groups remotely. This was the beginning of a large cultural shift for our organisation, so we knew that we needed to support the transition by seeking assistance from Paddy McLaughlan and Frankie Forsyth. Their calm, positive and professional attitude towards e-learning helped our team manage the stress relating to such a significant change and understand the massive benefits that could be afforded to our learners and organisation through adopting these practises.
During the start-up phase, our training team participated in a number of professional development activities with the support of the Skills Tasmania, in particular the E-learning Unit. These activities included undertaking the Facilitate E-learning Unit of Competency from the TAE04 qualification (which was funded under the Skills Tasmania Small PD Grants Program), a Customising Learning Tools and Objects workshop with Paddy McLaughlan, and the Using Wikis to Engage Adult Learners workshop with Leigh Blackall. The aim of this professional development program was to develop basic understanding of current e-learning practices and principals within our key training team, ensuring everyone’s “buy in” and optimism from the outset. We also wanted the ability to draw on and customise existing resources from such sources as Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository, to avoid developing new content unnecessarily. These activities proved a valuable investment of time, as we quickly developed an idea of the ways that e-learning could be used to complement our current delivery and assessment methods, rather than to replace them.
Despite the initial difficulty in co-ordinating groups of learners, the start-up phase of the project was productive. Through beginning the trialling process, we gained a far better understanding of the opportunities and challenges posed by delivering training and assessment remotely. By consulting widely, the project team’s support networks expanded significantly, drawing in expertise from a range of fields previously unconsidered. Through undertaking an intensive professional development program, Industrylink’s team built our organisational capability to undertake a shift toward an e-learning model that was designed to support the delivery of skills-based training relevant to our learners and consistent with our core values of building individual relationships with each of our learners and their employers.
As can be seen in this picture, using a big screen made a considerable difference to the level of detail that the participants could see. In this picture, one camera angle is on the teacher and the other is focused on the written activity that the learner is working through.
There were several aspects of running this project that worked well. The four types of superfast broadband that were utilised (wireless NBN, cabled NBN, ADSL2+ and AARNET) were largely reliable and certainly capable of meeting any demands that we placed on them – provided there was sufficient data allowance available for the exercise. Setting up a dedicated NBN-connected space for e-learning in a central location proved to be an excellent move, allowing us the freedom to experiment with different aspects of the project at short notice as new opportunities and developments began to present themselves. This was particularly valuable during the testing phases when we experienced considerable delays and would have been a disruption to the partner organisations’ operations.
Partnering with an IT hardware supplier and service provider proved to be a great advantage. We gained access to a wide range of hardware types at minimal cost, allowing us to test different types of webcams, headsets, webcam mounts and USB extension leads before investing in any hardware for the project. Additionally, we gained great input from a range of ICT professionals who used superfast broadband technologies in industries outside of the VET and education sector, such as gaming, CCTV security, e-commerce and the media. They shared valuable insights from a fresh perspective regarding potential pitfalls and opportunities, minimum hardware and software requirements, emerging wireless technologies, webcasting and video conferencing cloud ware, lowest cost solutions and communications protocols.
We trialled a number of webcasting and video conferencing software types. In the end, we settled on the first type that we had trialled – which is called “Vidyo”. We chose it because of the flexibility that it allows for video conferencing via computer, smartphone and tablet devices, and the ease with which we could integrate cameras. It was also great because of the fact the each licence only costs $4 (once the original main licence has been purchased by a host organisation). The picture resolution adjusts proportionately to the bandwidth available. This meant that when we were trialling between NBN, ADSL2 and AARNET, we had excellent picture quality that was only limited by the quality of the monitor or screen, not by the bandwidth or the software (which was a problem with Skype). It also means that any students who have to use a lesser connection can still participate in a video conferencing session with students who have higher bandwidth in real time, with minimal lag, as the data is simply compressed to accommodate their poorer connection.
We found that it worked well for the facilitator to have access to a large monitor, particularly when teaching more than one learner at a time (as the screen divides by the number of camera angles visible at once) so that they were able to see the learners faces and the skills that they were carrying out in sufficient detail. Using wireless headsets worked well too – it cut down on the number of cables that the students and teachers had to negotiate. When the new wave of webcams that are capable of streaming wirelessly under all environmental conditions are released, we anticipate a far more natural experience for teachers and learners. The extension cables between the webcam and computers proved to be the least reliable element in the setup – with loose USB connections and teachers and learners accidently stepping on the cables proving to be an annoying interruption to the lessons. Using the GoPro “Chesty” harnesses worked very well too. They worked far better than headcams, as the cameras moved around too much as learners moved their heads. We found that then younger learners quickly tired of having to keep their heads still as they attempted to work in small groups. The “Chesty” harnesses, despite being designed for an entirely different webcam than we used, were great for the job. They are made from strong elastic and are fully adjustable so that they fit every one with a minimum of fuss. Provided that they were adjusted to fit firmly, the webcams remained stable and the learners could move much more naturally during the sessions.
One of the surprising issues that emerged during the running of the project related to delivering the theory aspect of the unit of competency. We had identified that the Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository contained Learning Objects that seemed ideal. At first, we thought that using the Flexible Learning Objects as a method of delivering the underpinning theoretical content would be very simple as they were government endorsed resources that had been in the repository for five years. We expected that using the Learning Objects would allow us to concentrate on working out how to manage the live video streaming component of the practical delivery. The trainers went through the Learning Objects and determined that the activities within them were perfect for the project, as they are interactive, relevant and logical. The Learning Objects address each of the important performance criteria and give well-contextualised assessment tasks at the end of each section. We were very pleased with the resource, and distributed the link to the learners to either work through independently or with the guidance of their trainers. Unfortunately, we missed an important step in our checking of the Learning Objects – to ascertain whether a student could actually save their answers to the assessment activities reliably enough to constitute valid evidence of assessment. We found that some learners were able to save their answers without trouble. Others couldn’t save their answers, and others couldn’t get some of the activities to load on their computers or tablet devices at all. The other significant issue was that there was an error in the mathematics in the “Balance the Register” section – quite a fundamental problem that meant that it was impossible to succeed in the activity, as the numbers did not add up.
We found that fixing these issues was outside of the expertise of the core project team. We drew on the help of the Content Services Advisor, Paddy McLaughlan. Paddy assisted us in rectifying the troubles with Balancing the Register by changing the numbers in the HTML. She also and worked to discover why some learners were unable to load some of the different activities. Paddy determined that some of the troubles were related to the age of the Toolbox, as it was created in 2007. The students who were working with much newer computers and tablets were unable to view the media in the Learning Objects as the media players were out dated. Once Paddy had found solutions to these issues, we encountered troubles with distributing the copies of updated Learning Objects to learners as the files were too large to email, and we experienced some reliability issues with Dropbox. At this point in the project, we needed to find a fast solution that would allow learners to move forward with the the unit, so we engaged a dedicated web programmer to upload the corrected version of the Learning Objects to our website (hosted on their server) so that students could easily access a functioning copy while E-Works (who administer the Flexible Learning Toolboxes) amended the master version. http://www.industry-link.com.au/balance-register/start_here.htmThis was not quite a perfect solution, as learners were still unable to save their answers for evidence. We addressed this by uploading a set of instructions for taking a screen shot of the answer page which the learners could email to their trainer. http://www.industry-link.com.au/PrintScreen.pdf This exercise proved to be an excellent lesson in ensuring that we completed whole online activities to check every aspect of functionality from the learner’s point of view, rather than simply checking the activities to ensure that they were engaging, relevant and compliant. It also taught our team that it is vital not to place too much blind faith in the accuracy of pre-packaged teaching resources. The Industrylink team continues to utilise the Flexible Learning Toolboxes for delivering many aspects of the Hospitality, Events and Tourism training package as they are an excellent resource of interactive learning resources. However, we now ensure that we check every detail thoroughly before attempting to use any Learning Objects with learners – particularly when we ask learners to work through any activities in a self-paced manner. We were delighted with the support that the Content Services Advisor provided us, and feel that we always can contact the E-learning Unit for help with using the Learning Objects as our team continues to develop technical confidence.
Here is the E-learning space that Principal Computers set up for us in a space corner of their warehouse. As can be seen, it was very basic – simply an NBN connection in a quiet space (with lots of types of cameras, headsets and microphones available to experiment with!). Having access to a dedicated space made a big difference to our project, and our school continues to use this space. A very low cost, “no frills” facility has changed the way that we can connect with our students.
Thinking back over the experience, can you answer or reflect on:
costs to the organisation that could be deemed over and above alternative delivery models (ignoring one off NBN connection costs); or cost savings?
Skills developed by the team
Future benefits to the organisation, i.e. will the NBN deliver real benefitsto your organisation and the learner?
In retrospect give a brief appraisal of using the NBN as a learning / teaching tool
We feel that the delivery model that we developed, which utilised a combination of self-paced online Flexible Learning objects for theory delivery and live video streaming for practical delivery added a very flexible and relatively low cost option for our school that is surprisingly straightforward to implement. It will allow our students to connect with each other and their trainers more frequently and with less pressure. Compared with the cost of visiting students around Tasmania in a one-on-one way (which is the way we have traditionally delivered training to regional students) we feel that the costs of this system are negligible.
For example, our RTO currently has one Commercial Cookery apprentice enrolled in Swansea on the East Coast of Tasmania, where the NBN is scheduled to rollout in September 2014. At present, in order to train and assess this apprentice properly, we will need to visit him at least 30 times over three years. Each trip is a 270km round trip, taking our trainer and assessor around 4 hours of driving and costing around $120 in fuel, costing our school upwards of $7,000 in wages and fuel (not including delivery time).
Training in the traditional way, the student will gain good skills and knowledge. However, he will have to display a high level of self-motivation and maturity to maintain his engagement with his training between the monthly visits, as he is one of only a handful of apprentices in his region and has only one chef to work with in his workplace. There is a strong chance that, through professional isolation, he will lose touch with his training, or leave the region and move to a city to complete his training. This exposes our business to the risk that we may not receive the vital completion payment that we rely on in order to operate in regional areas.
The relative cost of providing this apprentice with a generic tablet device, two webcams and a headset capable of supporting the live video streaming lesson is under $1000. He will communicate with his trainer far more frequently, be able to ask questions and seek demonstrations visually, and join into sessions with other learners. We anticipate that even if we only used live video streaming for delivering and assessing half of the units of competency in the qualification (the theory based units, and those that can be undertaken while standing still) to this single student, we would save 15 trips to the East Coast. This would save our business at least $2,500, and would significantly increase the apprentices’ chances of completing his qualification on the East Coast. Given that at present, regional employers of Commercial Cookery apprentices receive a $1,000 regional subsidy to support distance learning, our business is seriously considering ways to deploy this strategy as standard procedure in the near future.
Industrylink is currently in the planning stages of engaging interstate content experts for the delivery of specialised electives that our clients have expressed a need for via live video streaming that we do not have access to the appropriate local expertise. Previously, we have been approached by employers in the Hospitality industry who would like their senior staff to undertake sommelier (wine specialist) training at a very high level. We had explored the possibilities of engaging trainers from interstate to provide this training, as there is only one trainer who holds this accreditation in Tasmania. The costs were prohibitive (minimum $10,000 for one weekend, plus transport and other expenses). Now that we have access to the NBN and are in possession of the hardware necessary, we have located a Wine and Spirit Education Trust trainer in South Australia, in an NBN connected area. Our clients have already expressed strong interest in enrolling their staff in this course, which we intend to deliver via live video streaming between McLaren Vale and Hobart, with the trainer in South Australia, and the students in Hobart. We see this as a major win for our industry in Tasmania as well as our school, as the opportunities afforded by participating in this project and utilising the NBN are already accessible and affordable, allowing us to do things that have been beyond our means until now.
Overall, we consider the NBN to be an excellent learning and teaching tool. With access to a reliable and very fast internet connection, we are able to augment our current teaching methods, providing flexibility of delivery and assessment methods that we previously considered too unreliable to consider seriously. As hardware (particularly wireless technologies) continues to improve, we anticipate that our school will be able to extend its reach and variety of offering of Hospitality training around the state and country.
Additionally, leading this pilot project has opened our eyes to just how possible it is to gain a basic level of skill. Our organisation started with almost no technical skill, and now we feel that we can work through commonly occurring issues ourselves, using online troubleshooting techniques in many circumstances. We have also strengthened our networks within the e-learning field, so can call upon relevant networks to quickly access the IT support that we need with a minimum of fuss and expense. Our learners have been very positive about the experience, accepting the mode of learning as simply another way of learning.
Industrylink’s aim is now to refine the techniques so that each learning activity takes place as smoothly as possible, with far less consciousness about the delivery mode.
The original ideal outcome was that we would find a low cost, transferable method of delivering skills-based training to remote learners. We feel that we have achieved this, having developed a clear understanding of how to use a combination of online content for theory, and live video conferencing for practical delivery.
We had hoped to be able to integrate more camera angles in order to give a better view, or to that the ability to incorporate more learners into each lesson. This will be achievable within the next few months, as new affordable hardware capable of integrating more camera angles and streaming wirelessly live is released. Our organisation will continue to develop this teaching and learning technique, as our current model is only truly useful between up to 4 camera angles at once (unless the trainer has access to a huge monitor to be able to view enough fine detail), and only while remaining stationery. The ultimate aim is to be able to apply this technique to whole skill sets in Hospitality, where participants can move around a space and be viewed (and view their trainer) via several camera angles.
The original project ideal was that many learners in many areas would communicate live with one another in a classroom-style lesson, gaining national accreditation in the SITXFIN001A Process Financial Transactions unit of competence within the project period. Actual delivery to the various teams took a lot longer than expected, as we couldn’t get as many people into each session as we originally thought. This process is still underway, as the learners are yet to undertake their practical assessments for the unit. We will continue this process throughout the year as various groups work through the content of the unit of competency and identify that they are ready for assessment.
The overwhelming outcome that resulted from this project was the building of related networks in VET, e-learning, industry, community groups, government and schools. As a result of relationships formed in the project, we have seen some participants undertake work experience in actual industry settings that they would not have thought to approach, gain new confidence in using technology in creative ways and discover abilities that they were not aware that they had.
We originally expected to measure the outcome according to the number of learners who achieved accreditation in the unit of competency and their satisfaction levels relating to participating in the experience. This is not possible, as the process is still ongoing.
We have adjusted the measure of outcome to determine how many of the trainers involved intend to adopt this method of delivering training in future and to determine the participants’ attitudes toward their involvement in the project so far.
All four trainers reported that they will continue to utilise this training and assessment method for the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency, provided that the learner has access to an appropriate Point of Sale system in their workplace.
All fourteen participants who have worked through the Learning Object and undertaken the bulk of their live video training report that they find the experience enjoyable and useful. We will continue to survey participants as the VET in Schools students continue to engage with their practical training.
Key successes:
We undertook plenty of professional development prior to “going live” with learners.
We engaged the assistance of experienced, open and honest mentors and consultants who were genuinely interested in the priorities of the project (and made themselves available at the often odd times that we needed to trial various aspects of the project).
When it became clear that there were going to be delays, we communicated this clearly to the co-ordinators of learner groups to avoid wearing out our welcome in the various institutions. We were respectful of the varying demands existent in each different partner organisation and were flexible about the times and days for trials and sessions.
We tested hardware under many different environments and discovered where the best value for money was to be found – ensuring that the hardware that we settled on was the most useful for the purpose.
We found solutions to each issue by consulting broadly and outside of our own industry.
We created our own teaching and learning space that had an NBN connection for use of the project. This was a luxury that added a lot of manageability to the project.
We used ICT specialists who were able to address connectivity and technology issues, allowing us to utilise a broader range of notebook computers and tablets for the activities.
What would we do differently?
Be more realistic about the numbers of participants that we could actually involve within the project timeframe, particularly when trying to negotiate different school term timetables and mixing real industry participants with VET in school students. We will be working with participants until the end of the school year to ensure that each enrolled learner will have the opportunity to complete the unit.
We would not underestimate the importance of checking every single aspect of delivery – including online content that seems ready to go.
We would keep the core values of accessibility and affordability at the centre of all our decision making, as we lost time trying to make expensive, purpose-built video conferencing equipment “talk” to freely-available cloud-based video conferencing software. This caused unnecessary tensions between parties in the project and was unrelated to the key aspects that we were trying to address.
Our team is most keen to provide more detailed information about how our project ran. As we are still going, we anticipate that we will gain more expertise and discover more “tricks” as we gain confidence and momentum. We would be more than happy to discuss the journey (as it continues) with anyone who is interested in utilising this delivery model. Here are some key basic principles that we feel would transfer to any e-learning activity that utilised cloud based software and low cost live video streaming:
1) Allow plenty of time for every session – it generally takes longer than expected.
2) Minimise the numbers of participants in any one session until things are running smoothly. The fewer people waiting around, the less stress and frustration anyone will experience.
3) Make sure that each participant has a full kit. This includes the webcams, monitor, microphone, chest harness and any equipment relevant to the exercise. Sharing (even one cash register between two, as we tried) does not really work. There are too many other logistics to navigate and people become frustrated. This may change when there are wireless webcams available and there are few cords to negotiate.
4) Get hold of the biggest High Definition monitor possible, particularly when integrating different views (either multiple camera angles of one user, or several different users).
5) ALWAYS have a backup plan, including bringing a spare computer, alternative internet connection, knowledge of how to change from peripheral camera to built-in webcam, ability to change between microphones, ability to deal with feedback and knowledge of basic troubleshooting techniques. Particularly when dealing with new and unfamiliar learners, plan backup activities so that participants leave each session feeling that they have achieved something positive and not wasted their time.
6) Try and focus on the content and the learning as much as possible without making too much of a “big deal” about the delivery method. The learners are less interested in the mechanics of the lesson than we are.
7) Keep a patient and positive attitude – and a good sense of humor! It will rub off on your participants.
8) Ask questions (even simple ones) of experienced e-learning practitioners. They are generally very forthcoming with advice and assistance that can help your project take great leaps forward.
Contact Information
For further information regarding this NBN E-Learning project, please contact:
The NBN VET Together project team comprised a range of partners from VET, education and industry, with Industrylink as the lead organisation. Industrylink is a small registered training provider headquartered in Hobart that provides hospitality-specific accredited training to around 250 trainees, apprentices and, VET in Schools, students around Tasmania in Commercial Cookery, Front of House and Patisserie.
Key partners included the following:
Schools and Community Organisations – Pittwater Community Centre, The Hutchins School, St Micheal’s Collegiate, Sorell Skills Centre and Circular Head Chrisitian School. The schools, situated in metropolitan and regional parts of Tasmania, deliver VET programs to students in years 10-12. All of the organisations have access to superfast broadband, including NBN, AARNET and ADSL2+, with varying degrees of technological and e-learning infrastructure in place.Employers – Midway Point Store and Zimmah Coffee Lab. Both outlets are connected to the NBN. Midway Point Store is connected to the NBN via cable and was one of the first three businesses nationally to connect to the NBN. Zimmah Coffee Lab is connected wirelessly to the NBN from a Stage 1 release site. Both businesses draw on the capabilities of superfast broadband for a range of operational functions including security and data management.
Consultants – Frankie Forsyth Pty Ltd and Principal Computers. Frankie Forsyth worked with the project manager as an e-learning coach and mentor. Frankie also facilitated training for the Industrylink training team in basic e-learning methodology and practice. Principal Computers contributed support to the project through setting up an “E-learning Lab” in their NBN-connected warehouse space and provided ICT technical support throughout the project.
Our project addressed all three parts of the NBN E-learning Program scope.
The main aim of the NBN VET Together Project was to address the opportunity to deliver hospitality-related skills-based training in a range of regional and metropolitan areas. The idea was to focus on the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency as a way to develop a method of utilising live, multi-directional video streaming to deliver meaningful, trainer-lead skills based-learning to participants in outlying areas. We wanted to trial innovative teaching and learning methods that leveraged the unique capabilities of superfast broadband to deliver High Definition, full audio and real time rich media, ultimately enabling a teaching and learning experience that would be as good (or possibly even better) than a traditional face-to-face experience.
The idea was that through determining and testing the emerging rich media possibilities afforded through superfast broadband, the facilitation of VET programs would be improved as our project team and partners added to their skills and knowledge of “e-learning 2.0”. In order to achieve these aims of adding innovative VET program delivery methods to our “bag of tricks”, we determined that we needed to undertake some trials and professional development activities to strengthen our organisational readiness for the provision of remote teaching and learning via the National Broadband Network.
All three aspects of the NBN E-learning Programs scope were met through a process where an organisational readiness program took place alongside the trialling and testing of various software and hardware combinations and the adaptation of existing online content for the purposes of the project. All three factors needed to be in place in order to enable the successful live remote delivery and assessment of the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency.
The amount that our team knew about high speed broadband technology varied significantly. Some team members had been on board with the NBN from the very beginning of Stage 1 of the Rollout, or were already connected to AARNET and ADSL2+. They had been using Web 2.0 technologies for a number of education, social and business purposes with a high level of confidence and sophistication for several months. Three of the schools had already been using high-quality (and very expensive) video conferencing technology for remote theory teaching purposes and had a good understanding of the possibilities afforded by using superfast broadband in combination with purpose-built software and hardware. They were keen to see how they would be able to apply the capacity that they had for HD video conferencing to a skills-based training context. These partners were optimistic about the project’s chance of success and were open-minded and supportive about participating in the project. They generally approved of the limited scope of the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency that had been selected for delivery, as they understood that for the first phase of the transition to live remote delivery of skills-based training, it would be appropriate to focus on skills that could be performed while the learners and teachers were stationery.
Other parts of the team had little or no knowledge of high speed broadband technologies at all – including the project manager! Prior to leading the project, Industrylink did not utilise any e-learning practices for the delivery of its Hospitality training and assessment. The project manager had very little understanding of the challenges that might present themselves while attempting to conduct skills based training in this way. Leading the project, and engaging the assistance of Frankie Forsyth, a highly skilled and experienced E-learning Mentor, as well as Paddy McLaughlan (Australian Flexible Learning Toolbox Champion / Content Services Advisor), presented an excellent opportunity to adopt some new organisational practises that would address some of the challenges that Industrylink faces in the delivery of quality, real time training to regional and remote students in hands-on occupations.
We chose the Process Financial Transactions unit for a number of reasons. The first was that it was a unit of competency that could be useful for all kinds of learners – those who were enrolled in full qualifications, and those who were just interested in joining in for the project. We chose the unit as it could be transported into qualifications from 13 different service-oriented training packages, so that participants could gain credit towards a huge number of nationally recognised qualifications. The project centred on this unit as the performance criteria contained within the unit is largely skills-oriented, with very few performance criteria that were solely theory-based. We wanted to focus on ways to work with remote learners who prefer to “do”, rather than to read and write, as we felt that this was the gap in the e-learning landscape so far.
We ensured that we formed a well balanced team of ICT specialists and e-learning advocates, as well as interested community workers who could support the progress of the project. Each of the schools has ICT staff with excellent technical abilities, as do Frankie Forsyth and the team at Principal Computers and Zimmah Coffee. We planned to ensure that at least one technically competent person would be present during the initial trials of varying combinations of software and hardware types, so that we would be able to troubleshoot as we went.
Despite these supporting factors, there were a few key points at which we were caught unawares. We discovered that almost every step took a great deal more time than we imagined, and learned to allow at least an hour and a half for set up and troubleshooting before introducing any new element to the teaching and learning configuration, even when that particular combination had been successful in a trial run. The other factor that caught us by surprise was that there were errors in the Learning Objects from the Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository that we had intended to use for delivering the theoretical components of the Unit of Competency.
These issues, despite being unforseen, ultimately contributed to the success of the project. Our core team became much more skilled at troubleshooting, becoming familiar with common issues and ways to deal with them. As new challenges arose, we were able to draw on a broadening network of people with particular expertise in various areas to address the various issues. This had the effect of strengthening our support networks and sparking interest in the project in circles that we had not initially considered. We drew heavily on the support of the E-learning Unit at Skills Tasmania, in particular that of the Content Services Advisor, Paddy McLaughlan.
Highlight what worked, what didn’t work; and lessons learnt, and strategies used as they relate to:
Starting our project was simple in some key ways and difficult in others. The simple part was gaining access to NBN- and other superfast broadband-connected locations, as these had been identified prior to our original submission. In fact, as we started to explore the actual teaching and learning strategies and began talking to a broad range of people, in true Tasmanian style, we were offered the use of even more NBN-connected spaces by people we had never met! In the early stages of the project, the project manager met with a broad range of interested parties from industry, government and communities to rally support for the project outcomes and to learn more about attitudes and experiences relating to superfast broadband. Everyone that we met with was supportive and keen to assist in any way they could. The initial consultations informed our interaction with learners and co-ordinators, as we were more aware of barriers to engagement such as previous negative experiences with early versions of e-learning, access to transport in regional locations and attitudes towards the NBN in general.
Difficulties in starting were mainly due to the timing of the projects’ commencement. Given that the learners and the group co-ordinators were largely drawn from schools and the hospitality industry, we experienced considerable difficulty in connecting with them in between January and March. These months constitute school holidays and beginning of term for the VET in Schools cohort, and are peak season for Hospitality trainees and their employers. This made scheduling sessions difficult until mid-March.
Key activities that we undertook during the start-up phase were related to determining the critical aspects for training and assessment from the Unit of Competency and testing remote methods of assessment for these skills. For example, in order to assess a person’s ability to give correct change and to count the float in a cash register accurately, the assessor needed to be able to reliably discern between tender types. In the start-up phase, we trialled various cameras and cloud ware types to see how useful the picture quality was. We discovered that some webcams did not have sufficient resolution to reliably tell the difference between $20 and $50, and between 10c and 20c coins so had to determine the minimum picture resolution necessary for assessment. We discovered a range of surprises that we hadn’t considered, such as the fact that down- and upload speeds dropped significantly (and unexpectedly) when data allowances were used up, and that some project partners needed to work with their Internet Service Providers to increase their data allowances. Software functionality was also an issue, as we determined that some existing software types (such as Skype) were designed to minimise the amount of bandwidth used to allow them to be used across poorer connections. In some trials, despite the fact that excellent connections with superior hardware were available, we were unable to achieve the clarity of vision necessary for teaching the skills without having to physically move the camera very close to the objects that we were trying to see.
Given that Industry link had traditionally delivered Process Financial Transactions in an on-the-job, one-on-one style, we also needed to re-think the session plans and teaching resources that we would use to deliver the unit to groups remotely. This was the beginning of a large cultural shift for our organisation, so we knew that we needed to support the transition by seeking assistance from Paddy McLaughlan and Frankie Forsyth. Their calm, positive and professional attitude towards e-learning helped our team manage the stress relating to such a significant change and understand the massive benefits that could be afforded to our learners and organisation through adopting these practises.
During the start-up phase, our training team participated in a number of professional development activities with the support of the Skills Tasmania, in particular the E-learning Unit. These activities included undertaking the Facilitate E-learning Unit of Competency from the TAE04 qualification (which was funded under the Skills Tasmania Small PD Grants Program), a Customising Learning Tools and Objects workshop with Paddy McLaughlan, and the Using Wikis to Engage Adult Learners workshop with Leigh Blackall. The aim of this professional development program was to develop basic understanding of current e-learning practices and principals within our key training team, ensuring everyone’s “buy in” and optimism from the outset. We also wanted the ability to draw on and customise existing resources from such sources as Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository, to avoid developing new content unnecessarily. These activities proved a valuable investment of time, as we quickly developed an idea of the ways that e-learning could be used to complement our current delivery and assessment methods, rather than to replace them.
Despite the initial difficulty in co-ordinating groups of learners, the start-up phase of the project was productive. Through beginning the trialling process, we gained a far better understanding of the opportunities and challenges posed by delivering training and assessment remotely. By consulting widely, the project team’s support networks expanded significantly, drawing in expertise from a range of fields previously unconsidered. Through undertaking an intensive professional development program, Industrylink’s team built our organisational capability to undertake a shift toward an e-learning model that was designed to support the delivery of skills-based training relevant to our learners and consistent with our core values of building individual relationships with each of our learners and their employers.
There were several aspects of running this project that worked well. The four types of superfast broadband that were utilised (wireless NBN, cabled NBN, ADSL2+ and AARNET) were largely reliable and certainly capable of meeting any demands that we placed on them – provided there was sufficient data allowance available for the exercise. Setting up a dedicated NBN-connected space for e-learning in a central location proved to be an excellent move, allowing us the freedom to experiment with different aspects of the project at short notice as new opportunities and developments began to present themselves. This was particularly valuable during the testing phases when we experienced considerable delays and would have been a disruption to the partner organisations’ operations.
Partnering with an IT hardware supplier and service provider proved to be a great advantage. We gained access to a wide range of hardware types at minimal cost, allowing us to test different types of webcams, headsets, webcam mounts and USB extension leads before investing in any hardware for the project. Additionally, we gained great input from a range of ICT professionals who used superfast broadband technologies in industries outside of the VET and education sector, such as gaming, CCTV security, e-commerce and the media. They shared valuable insights from a fresh perspective regarding potential pitfalls and opportunities, minimum hardware and software requirements, emerging wireless technologies, webcasting and video conferencing cloud ware, lowest cost solutions and communications protocols.
We trialled a number of webcasting and video conferencing software types. In the end, we settled on the first type that we had trialled – which is called “Vidyo”. We chose it because of the flexibility that it allows for video conferencing via computer, smartphone and tablet devices, and the ease with which we could integrate cameras. It was also great because of the fact the each licence only costs $4 (once the original main licence has been purchased by a host organisation). The picture resolution adjusts proportionately to the bandwidth available. This meant that when we were trialling between NBN, ADSL2 and AARNET, we had excellent picture quality that was only limited by the quality of the monitor or screen, not by the bandwidth or the software (which was a problem with Skype). It also means that any students who have to use a lesser connection can still participate in a video conferencing session with students who have higher bandwidth in real time, with minimal lag, as the data is simply compressed to accommodate their poorer connection.
We found that it worked well for the facilitator to have access to a large monitor, particularly when teaching more than one learner at a time (as the screen divides by the number of camera angles visible at once) so that they were able to see the learners faces and the skills that they were carrying out in sufficient detail. Using wireless headsets worked well too – it cut down on the number of cables that the students and teachers had to negotiate. When the new wave of webcams that are capable of streaming wirelessly under all environmental conditions are released, we anticipate a far more natural experience for teachers and learners. The extension cables between the webcam and computers proved to be the least reliable element in the setup – with loose USB connections and teachers and learners accidently stepping on the cables proving to be an annoying interruption to the lessons. Using the GoPro “Chesty” harnesses worked very well too. They worked far better than headcams, as the cameras moved around too much as learners moved their heads. We found that then younger learners quickly tired of having to keep their heads still as they attempted to work in small groups. The “Chesty” harnesses, despite being designed for an entirely different webcam than we used, were great for the job. They are made from strong elastic and are fully adjustable so that they fit every one with a minimum of fuss. Provided that they were adjusted to fit firmly, the webcams remained stable and the learners could move much more naturally during the sessions.
One of the surprising issues that emerged during the running of the project related to delivering the theory aspect of the unit of competency. We had identified that the Flexible Learning Toolbox Repository contained Learning Objects that seemed ideal. At first, we thought that using the Flexible Learning Objects as a method of delivering the underpinning theoretical content would be very simple as they were government endorsed resources that had been in the repository for five years. We expected that using the Learning Objects would allow us to concentrate on working out how to manage the live video streaming component of the practical delivery. The trainers went through the Learning Objects and determined that the activities within them were perfect for the project, as they are interactive, relevant and logical. The Learning Objects address each of the important performance criteria and give well-contextualised assessment tasks at the end of each section. We were very pleased with the resource, and distributed the link to the learners to either work through independently or with the guidance of their trainers.
Unfortunately, we missed an important step in our checking of the Learning Objects – to ascertain whether a student could actually save their answers to the assessment activities reliably enough to constitute valid evidence of assessment. We found that some learners were able to save their answers without trouble. Others couldn’t save their answers, and others couldn’t get some of the activities to load on their computers or tablet devices at all. The other significant issue was that there was an error in the mathematics in the “Balance the Register” section – quite a fundamental problem that meant that it was impossible to succeed in the activity, as the numbers did not add up.
We found that fixing these issues was outside of the expertise of the core project team. We drew on the help of the Content Services Advisor, Paddy McLaughlan. Paddy assisted us in rectifying the troubles with Balancing the Register by changing the numbers in the HTML. She also and worked to discover why some learners were unable to load some of the different activities. Paddy determined that some of the troubles were related to the age of the Toolbox, as it was created in 2007. The students who were working with much newer computers and tablets were unable to view the media in the Learning Objects as the media players were out dated. Once Paddy had found solutions to these issues, we encountered troubles with distributing the copies of updated Learning Objects to learners as the files were too large to email, and we experienced some reliability issues with Dropbox. At this point in the project, we needed to find a fast solution that would allow learners to move forward with the the unit, so we engaged a dedicated web programmer to upload the corrected version of the Learning Objects to our website (hosted on their server) so that students could easily access a functioning copy while E-Works (who administer the Flexible Learning Toolboxes) amended the master version. http://www.industry-link.com.au/balance-register/start_here.htmThis was not quite a perfect solution, as learners were still unable to save their answers for evidence. We addressed this by uploading a set of instructions for taking a screen shot of the answer page which the learners could email to their trainer.
http://www.industry-link.com.au/PrintScreen.pdf
This exercise proved to be an excellent lesson in ensuring that we completed whole online activities to check every aspect of functionality from the learner’s point of view, rather than simply checking the activities to ensure that they were engaging, relevant and compliant. It also taught our team that it is vital not to place too much blind faith in the accuracy of pre-packaged teaching resources. The Industrylink team continues to utilise the Flexible Learning Toolboxes for delivering many aspects of the Hospitality, Events and Tourism training package as they are an excellent resource of interactive learning resources. However, we now ensure that we check every detail thoroughly before attempting to use any Learning Objects with learners – particularly when we ask learners to work through any activities in a self-paced manner. We were delighted with the support that the Content Services Advisor provided us, and feel that we always can contact the E-learning Unit for help with using the Learning Objects as our team continues to develop technical confidence.
Here is the E-learning space that Principal Computers set up for us in a space corner of their warehouse. As can be seen, it was very basic – simply an NBN connection in a quiet space (with lots of types of cameras, headsets and microphones available to experiment with!). Having access to a dedicated space made a big difference to our project, and our school continues to use this space. A very low cost, “no frills” facility has changed the way that we can connect with our students.
Thinking back over the experience, can you answer or reflect on:
We feel that the delivery model that we developed, which utilised a combination of self-paced online Flexible Learning objects for theory delivery and live video streaming for practical delivery added a very flexible and relatively low cost option for our school that is surprisingly straightforward to implement. It will allow our students to connect with each other and their trainers more frequently and with less pressure. Compared with the cost of visiting students around Tasmania in a one-on-one way (which is the way we have traditionally delivered training to regional students) we feel that the costs of this system are negligible.
For example, our RTO currently has one Commercial Cookery apprentice enrolled in Swansea on the East Coast of Tasmania, where the NBN is scheduled to rollout in September 2014. At present, in order to train and assess this apprentice properly, we will need to visit him at least 30 times over three years. Each trip is a 270km round trip, taking our trainer and assessor around 4 hours of driving and costing around $120 in fuel, costing our school upwards of $7,000 in wages and fuel (not including delivery time).
Training in the traditional way, the student will gain good skills and knowledge. However, he will have to display a high level of self-motivation and maturity to maintain his engagement with his training between the monthly visits, as he is one of only a handful of apprentices in his region and has only one chef to work with in his workplace. There is a strong chance that, through professional isolation, he will lose touch with his training, or leave the region and move to a city to complete his training. This exposes our business to the risk that we may not receive the vital completion payment that we rely on in order to operate in regional areas.
The relative cost of providing this apprentice with a generic tablet device, two webcams and a headset capable of supporting the live video streaming lesson is under $1000. He will communicate with his trainer far more frequently, be able to ask questions and seek demonstrations visually, and join into sessions with other learners. We anticipate that even if we only used live video streaming for delivering and assessing half of the units of competency in the qualification (the theory based units, and those that can be undertaken while standing still) to this single student, we would save 15 trips to the East Coast. This would save our business at least $2,500, and would significantly increase the apprentices’ chances of completing his qualification on the East Coast. Given that at present, regional employers of Commercial Cookery apprentices receive a $1,000 regional subsidy to support distance learning, our business is seriously considering ways to deploy this strategy as standard procedure in the near future.
Industrylink is currently in the planning stages of engaging interstate content experts for the delivery of specialised electives that our clients have expressed a need for via live video streaming that we do not have access to the appropriate local expertise. Previously, we have been approached by employers in the Hospitality industry who would like their senior staff to undertake sommelier (wine specialist) training at a very high level. We had explored the possibilities of engaging trainers from interstate to provide this training, as there is only one trainer who holds this accreditation in Tasmania. The costs were prohibitive (minimum $10,000 for one weekend, plus transport and other expenses). Now that we have access to the NBN and are in possession of the hardware necessary, we have located a Wine and Spirit Education Trust trainer in South Australia, in an NBN connected area. Our clients have already expressed strong interest in enrolling their staff in this course, which we intend to deliver via live video streaming between McLaren Vale and Hobart, with the trainer in South Australia, and the students in Hobart. We see this as a major win for our industry in Tasmania as well as our school, as the opportunities afforded by participating in this project and utilising the NBN are already accessible and affordable, allowing us to do things that have been beyond our means until now.
Overall, we consider the NBN to be an excellent learning and teaching tool. With access to a reliable and very fast internet connection, we are able to augment our current teaching methods, providing flexibility of delivery and assessment methods that we previously considered too unreliable to consider seriously. As hardware (particularly wireless technologies) continues to improve, we anticipate that our school will be able to extend its reach and variety of offering of Hospitality training around the state and country.
Additionally, leading this pilot project has opened our eyes to just how possible it is to gain a basic level of skill. Our organisation started with almost no technical skill, and now we feel that we can work through commonly occurring issues ourselves, using online troubleshooting techniques in many circumstances. We have also strengthened our networks within the e-learning field, so can call upon relevant networks to quickly access the IT support that we need with a minimum of fuss and expense. Our learners have been very positive about the experience, accepting the mode of learning as simply another way of learning.
Industrylink’s aim is now to refine the techniques so that each learning activity takes place as smoothly as possible, with far less consciousness about the delivery mode.
The original ideal outcome was that we would find a low cost, transferable method of delivering skills-based training to remote learners. We feel that we have achieved this, having developed a clear understanding of how to use a combination of online content for theory, and live video conferencing for practical delivery.
We had hoped to be able to integrate more camera angles in order to give a better view, or to that the ability to incorporate more learners into each lesson. This will be achievable within the next few months, as new affordable hardware capable of integrating more camera angles and streaming wirelessly live is released. Our organisation will continue to develop this teaching and learning technique, as our current model is only truly useful between up to 4 camera angles at once (unless the trainer has access to a huge monitor to be able to view enough fine detail), and only while remaining stationery. The ultimate aim is to be able to apply this technique to whole skill sets in Hospitality, where participants can move around a space and be viewed (and view their trainer) via several camera angles.
The original project ideal was that many learners in many areas would communicate live with one another in a classroom-style lesson, gaining national accreditation in the SITXFIN001A Process Financial Transactions unit of competence within the project period. Actual delivery to the various teams took a lot longer than expected, as we couldn’t get as many people into each session as we originally thought. This process is still underway, as the learners are yet to undertake their practical assessments for the unit. We will continue this process throughout the year as various groups work through the content of the unit of competency and identify that they are ready for assessment.
The overwhelming outcome that resulted from this project was the building of related networks in VET, e-learning, industry, community groups, government and schools. As a result of relationships formed in the project, we have seen some participants undertake work experience in actual industry settings that they would not have thought to approach, gain new confidence in using technology in creative ways and discover abilities that they were not aware that they had.
We originally expected to measure the outcome according to the number of learners who achieved accreditation in the unit of competency and their satisfaction levels relating to participating in the experience. This is not possible, as the process is still ongoing.
We have adjusted the measure of outcome to determine how many of the trainers involved intend to adopt this method of delivering training in future and to determine the participants’ attitudes toward their involvement in the project so far.
All four trainers reported that they will continue to utilise this training and assessment method for the Process Financial Transactions unit of competency, provided that the learner has access to an appropriate Point of Sale system in their workplace.
All fourteen participants who have worked through the Learning Object and undertaken the bulk of their live video training report that they find the experience enjoyable and useful. We will continue to survey participants as the VET in Schools students continue to engage with their practical training.
Key successes:
What would we do differently?
Our team is most keen to provide more detailed information about how our project ran. As we are still going, we anticipate that we will gain more expertise and discover more “tricks” as we gain confidence and momentum. We would be more than happy to discuss the journey (as it continues) with anyone who is interested in utilising this delivery model.
Here are some key basic principles that we feel would transfer to any e-learning activity that utilised cloud based software and low cost live video streaming:
1) Allow plenty of time for every session – it generally takes longer than expected.
2) Minimise the numbers of participants in any one session until things are running smoothly. The fewer people waiting around, the less stress and frustration anyone will experience.
3) Make sure that each participant has a full kit. This includes the webcams, monitor, microphone, chest harness and any equipment relevant to the exercise. Sharing (even one cash register between two, as we tried) does not really work. There are too many other logistics to navigate and people become frustrated. This may change when there are wireless webcams available and there are few cords to negotiate.
4) Get hold of the biggest High Definition monitor possible, particularly when integrating different views (either multiple camera angles of one user, or several different users).
5) ALWAYS have a backup plan, including bringing a spare computer, alternative internet connection, knowledge of how to change from peripheral camera to built-in webcam, ability to change between microphones, ability to deal with feedback and knowledge of basic troubleshooting techniques. Particularly when dealing with new and unfamiliar learners, plan backup activities so that participants leave each session feeling that they have achieved something positive and not wasted their time.
6) Try and focus on the content and the learning as much as possible without making too much of a “big deal” about the delivery method. The learners are less interested in the mechanics of the lesson than we are.
7) Keep a patient and positive attitude – and a good sense of humor! It will rub off on your participants.
8) Ask questions (even simple ones) of experienced e-learning practitioners. They are generally very forthcoming with advice and assistance that can help your project take great leaps forward.
Contact Information
For further information regarding this NBN E-Learning project, please contact:
Name: Nina McMahon
Organisation: Industrylink: Culinary School of Excellence
Phone: (03) 6231 0677
Email: nina@industry-link.com.au
Website:http://www.industrylinkaus.com/